UFC Fight Night 37 results: Gunnar Nelson steamrolls Omari Akhmedov

LONDON – A 13-month injury layoff hardly slowed down the highly touted Gunnar Nelson, who looked like he hadn’t missed a beat inside the octagon in his return.

With surgical precision, the Icelandic grappling standout took Omari Akhmedov to the mat and punished him until a finish presented itself.

The welterweight bout opened the main card of today’s UFC Fight Night 37 event at O2 Arena in London. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass.

Akhmedov was far less aggressive than in his raucous octagon debut against Thiago Perpetuo at UFC Fight Night 32. The Dagestani fighter appeared hesitant in the cage and backpedaled as Nelson slowly advanced. When he did throw punches, he frequently did so with his head down.

Nelson patiently waited his turn, and with his first attack, he did damage. A straight left sent Akhmedov to the mat, and Nelson quickly took the mount. There, he punished his opponent with hard elbows, opening a cut, and refused to give up the position.

Akhmedov finally managed to push his heavy-hipped opponent off of his body for a moment. But when he righted himself, Nelson simply trapped his neck and executed a picture-perfect guillotine, bringing a tap-out at the 4:36 mark of the frame.

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